3 Biggest Storylines to Watch Ahead of UFC Fight Night: Medic vs. Rodriguez
The UFC is finally visiting Serbia, a country that was more synonymous with Crvena Zvezda making the Champions League than it is with MMA. That is set to change on August 1, when the promotion breaks new ground with its first-ever event in the country, as UFC Fight Night takes over Belgrade Arena. The historic card also makes Serbia the 33rd nation to host a UFC event.
Serbian fighters have steadily raised the country’s profile inside the Octagon in recent years. No. 13-ranked welterweight Uros Medic owns an impressive 13-3 record and will headline the event in front of his home fans. Middleweight Dusko Todorovic, who earned his UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series, brings a 13-6 record and a well-rounded skill set, while No. 12-ranked light heavyweight Aleksandar Rakic, born in Vienna to Serbian parents, has long been one of the division’s top contenders.
The spotlight, however, belongs to Medic. The Budisava native will headline a UFC event for the first time in his career when he faces veteran Daniel Rodriguez in the main event. Competing on home soil promises an electric atmosphere and added motivation, but it also comes with the pressure of carrying the hopes of Serbian combat sports in the promotion’s historic debut. With anticipation building, here are three of the biggest talking points among fans ahead of this landmark event.
Why Daniel Rodriguez Is Uros Medic’s Ultimate Welterweight Litmus Test
The main event at UFC Fight Night in Belgrade features a fascinating clash of styles as hometown favorite Uros Medic (13-3) takes on veteran Daniel Rodriguez (20-5) in a five-round welterweight showdown.
Both fighters stand 6-foot-1, but Rodriguez enjoys a three-inch reach advantage (74 inches to Medic’s 71). That’s where most of the physical advantages end, though, as these two approach fights in completely different ways.
Medic is one of the UFC’s most explosive finishers. Every one of his 13 career wins has come inside the distance: 11 by knockout and two by submission, with an incredible 10 ending in the opening round. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is the definition of a pressure fighter, relying on relentless boxing volume rather than one-punch power.
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The American lands an impressive 7.20 significant strikes per minute and has built a reputation for dragging opponents into grueling battles. The numbers reflect that contrast. Medic lands 60% of his significant strikes while defending 56% of the shots coming his way. Rodriguez isn’t far behind, connecting at 49% with a 57% striking defense. Wrestling is unlikely to be the deciding factor either, as Rodriguez owns a 64% takedown defense compared to Medic’s 55%.
Both men also enter Belgrade with momentum. Medic has scored three straight first-round knockouts over Gilbert Urbina, Muslim Salikhov and Geoff Neal, while Rodriguez has quietly put together wins over Alex Morono, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Kevin Holland.
More than the numbers, this bout is an emotional homecoming for Medic. For more than five years, visa and immigration complications prevented the Serbian from leaving the United States, meaning he couldn’t return home to Serbia or compete internationally. After knocking out Geoff Neal in Houston, “The Doctor” used his post-fight interview to make a public plea for help with his immigration situation.
The moment quickly went viral and even reached U.S. President Donald Trump, who spoke with Medic over the phone through Dana White and promised to help resolve the issue. That intervention ultimately cleared the administrative hurdles, allowing Medic to travel back to Serbia and headline the first UFC event in the country’s history.
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A win over Rodriguez would be the biggest of Medic’s career and further establish him as a legitimate contender in the welterweight division. Rodriguez, meanwhile, has other plans. The veteran heads into enemy territory looking to spoil the party, silence the Belgrade crowd and remind everyone why he’s long been one of the toughest tests for rising welterweights.
UFC Belgrade Could Decide Jan Blachowicz’s Future in the Promotion
For former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, the co-main event at UFC Belgrade represents a desperate last stand to prove that his legendary ‘Polish Power’ hasn’t run out of juice. Now 43 years old, the veteran finds himself at the most precarious crossroads of his storied career.
The razor-thin margins that once defined his championship rise have completely evaporated. Blachowicz enters the Octagon winless in his last four outings: a frustrating stretch comprising a split-decision loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 291, back-to-back split and majority draws against Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov at UFC 282 and UFC 323, and a decision defeat to Carlos Ulberg at UFC London back in March 2025.
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For a former titleholder accustomed to setting the pace at 205 pounds, failing to secure a hand-raised victory since mid-2022 has transformed him from a feared divisional staple into an aging veteran fighting for survival on the roster. A fifth consecutive failure to win would almost certainly close the door on any remaining title aspirations, signaling the end of his UFC run.
Compounding the pressure is a late-stage opponent change that completely threw his fight week preparation into disarray. Blachowicz was originally locked into a redemptive rematch against Bogdan Guskov in the co-main event on August 1. However, card reshuffling ripped Guskov away, leaving Blachowicz to face rising wildcard Navajo Stirling on short notice.
This sudden shift creates a nightmare tactical dilemma for the Polish veteran. Stirling represents the ultimate high-risk, low-reward trap: an athletic, hungry prospect with nothing to lose and everything to gain by adding a former champion’s name to his record. While Blachowicz spent weeks game-planning for Guskov’s specific tendencies, he must now recalibrate instantly against an unpredictable striker who carries fresh momentum.
In front of a raucous European crowd in Belgrade, the margin for error is non-existent. Blachowicz. A victory for the former 205lbs kingpin keeps the legend alive for one more chapter, but a loss to a late replacement would indeed be big UFC news and likely spell the definitive end of his MMA story.
UFC Belgrade Fuels Growing Calls for Events in Spain and Africa
The UFC’s international expansion has grown from a post-pandemic experiment into one of the promotion’s biggest success stories. With the Octagon set to make its historic debut in Serbia next month, the UFC has continued to prove that bringing events to underserved MMA markets isn’t just good for fans but also good for business.
After successful first-time events in places like Baku and Qatar, the momentum has only grown, with fans and fighters increasingly calling on Dana White and the UFC to finally take the Octagon to two long-awaited destinations: Spain and Africa.
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The blueprint has already been established. UFC Baku demonstrated the appetite for elite MMA in the Caucasus, with hometown favorite Rafael Fiziev delivering a spectacular second-round knockout of Manuel Torres in front of more than 12,000 passionate fans at the National Gymnastics Arena.
The event also highlighted the region’s growing pool of talent while generating impressive regional viewership. On August 1, the UFC is headed to Serbia for its promotional debut, where Belgrade Arena sold out its 18,000 seats within hours. Headlined by hometown hero Uros Medic and backed by regional stars such as Aleksandar Rakic and Jan Blachowicz, the event showcased the enthusiasm for live UFC events across Central and Eastern Europe.
With that momentum behind it, Spain has become the loudest voice calling for its own UFC event. Much of that demand stems from the meteoric rise of former 2-division champion Ilia Topuria, whose popularity has transformed MMA from a niche sport into a mainstream attraction across the country.
More importantly, Topuria has already proven he is a bona fide pay-per-view headliner capable of carrying a blockbuster event. The Spaniard has repeatedly expressed his desire to headline a UFC card at Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, a venue that can accommodate more than 80,000 fans.
Combined with rising contenders like Joel Alvarez, Aleksandre Topuria, Hecher Sosa and a reported surge in Spanish UFC Fight Pass subscriptions, Spain now has everything the promotion looks for in a new market: a passionate fanbase, elite homegrown talent and a genuine superstar who can sell out a stadium.
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The same argument applies to Africa, where the push for the continent’s first UFC event remains one of the promotion’s biggest unfinished projects. Africa has already produced some of the sport’s biggest names in Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya, but it now has another compelling headliner in former 185lbs champion Dricus du Plessis.
As the first UFC champion born, living and training out of South Africa, Du Plessis has repeatedly voiced his desire to headline a UFC event on African soil. His championship status gives the promotion exactly what it needs to launch a landmark card, while modern venues such as BK Arena in Kigali and SunBet Arena in South Africa provide ready-made infrastructure for a Fight Night or even a pay-per-view.
With Baku and Belgrade proving that underserved markets can become instant successes, the question is no longer whether Spain and Africa deserve UFC events. With stars like Topuria and Du Plessis ready to headline them, it’s simply a matter of how much longer the UFC can afford to keep those fans waiting.
